Lottery numbers

[shawty]

Hi just a quick question.

If I played the lottery and picked numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6, would i have the same chance of winning if i put on a lucky dip. If so thats what i thought but if not, then why wouldnt i have the same chance.

oops sorry just relised where i posted this im so dumb

Yes

[Tricky]

I once joked that we should put those exact numbers on and on the day I said it I would have won £10

For information playing 1,2,3,4,5,6 would have netted you 23 x £10 and 4 numbers on 24-04-2004

[makikomi]

You have exactly the same odds of getting those numbers as any other numbers. At least theoretically.

HOWEVER... I heard about 2 years ago that some 10,000 people regularly chose those numbers. So unles you fancy sharing a lotto jackpot with 9,999 others, I'd use another assortment.

Apparently, with a lucky dip you have a higher chance of winning as the numbers picked tend to be those combinations that have not already been used... how true THAT is, I'm not sure. I thought they were purely random numbers...

[shawty]

Ok thanks, im not going to pick those numbers its just im always arguing with people and they always say nah u dont have the same chance but they cant explain why.

[Angua]

I think it may have to do with them being sequential. At the end of the day it's the randomness of the draw so you could never tell.

[Raistlin]

Exactly the same odds as any other sequence of numbers.

[Theodoric]

Originally Posted by makikomi

You have exactly the same odds of getting those numbers as any other numbers. At least theoretically.

HOWEVER... I heard about 2 years ago that some 10,000 people regularly chose those numbers. So unles you fancy sharing a lotto jackpot with 9,999 others, I'd use another assortment.

Apparently, with a lucky dip you have a higher chance of winning as the numbers picked tend to be those combinations that have not already been used... how true THAT is, I'm not sure. I thought they were purely random numbers...

You're quite right on the odds of any 6 numbers being the same. And you're right about the lucky dip as well. Many people tend to go for birthdays, which means that numbers over 31 are less likely to be chosen. Also many people, supposedly, go for rows or columns of numbers.

There was an interesting example of the odds on that programme that appears before Murder in Suburbia. I caught the tail end and, out of 100000 lottery tickets, 2197 had 3 numbers correct and 97 had 4 numbers correct. I've just checked the odds, which are apparently 1 in 56.7 for 3 numbers and 1 in 1032 for 4 numbers. For 100000 lottery tickets we would therefore expect, on average, 1764 and 97, respectively. Not bad agreement, I'd say. Any statisticians out there may care to work out whether the former figures had a reasonable probability of occurring; would it be Student's t-test you'd need?

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Theodoric

ught they were purely random numbers...

You're quite right on the odds of any 6 numbers being the same. And you're right about the lucky dip as well. Many people tend to go for birthdays, which means that numbers over 31 are less likely to be chosen. Also many people, supposedly, go for rows or columns of numbers.[/QUOTE]

IIRC on only the *second* ever lottery draw something like 130 people shared the jackpot!

[bopdude]

I don't know, surely as well as the randomness of numbers coming up, you have the randomness / probability factor of said numbers being in numerical sequence in other words your choice of 6 numbers is 1 thing / odds, getting them in an order must be another, if not, then why do casino's pay more for a royal flush as opposed to a straight ???

[Graham]

Originally Posted by bopdude

I don't know, surely as well as the randomness of numbers coming up, you have the randomness / probability factor of said numbers being in numerical sequence in other words your choice of 6 numbers is 1 thing / odds, getting them in an order must be another, if not, then why do casino's pay more for a royal flush as opposed to a straight ???

But in the lottery it's any *combination* of 6 numbers, not a particular *permutation* which is another matter entirely.

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by Graham

But in the lottery it's any *combination* of 6 numbers, not a particular *permutation* which is another matter entirely.

Yes but surely there's a difference between asking for 6 numbers and asking for 6 numbers in sequential order seems to me a whole new set of oods come into play as its not random numbers your asking for ???
__________________

Just re-read your reply, did / do you agree that the odds are higher ??

[slug]

Originally Posted by bopdude

Yes but surely there's a difference between asking for 6 numbers and asking for 6 numbers in sequential order seems to me a whole new set of oods come into play as its not random numbers your asking for ???

If you toss a coin, it does not know how it landed, so can have no control on the odds of how it lands.

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by slug

If you toss a coin, it does not know how it landed, so can have no control on the odds of how it lands.

was / has that got to do with the lottery ??? sounds more like a chinese proverb

[AndrewJ]

Wise man pee in limo pool to maintain happyness....